[Keb]

*flails* *adores* *loves* *dies realizing this episode is probably going to do to her what The Outsider did, somehow*

There aren’t words. And I won’t be able to watch live!

[Keb]

Just clicked. Henry confirms that he’s 13 now (somehow, timeline is wonky but I always take their words for it if it’s in canon and then twist my spreadsheet backwards to make it work). That’s how old his father was when Rumple became the DO. So many feels.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

I think Emma DID order Belle’s death, but I also think that Belle will survive.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

Oh yes, Merida has her own plans. You saw how she ran at Emma to try to break the spell and get her heart back. She has no choice but to try to make Rumple a hero, but she intends to use him to defeat Emma. However, Merida’s not been shown (here or in Brave) to be the most complex of planners–her first plan is almost always to whack stuff with a sword or shoot it with her arrows. She’s good with strategy, but not great; Emma and Rumple, however, have both become master manipulators at this point (and Emma was always good at outthinking her targets–she’s just got more abilities now). I think Merida got her father’s brawn and her brothers got her mother’s brains (they’re definitely better schemers and I so hope we get to meet them on the show).

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

Honestly I think what made this episode great for me was that it did focus on Emma, Regina, and Henry (and a little bit Rumple), who are the core of the show. Robin and Hook were set aside for a bit, and the show actually aimed for some continuity with everything that’s gone down for our three central characters over the past four seasons. (Don’t get me wrong, I like Hook, but sometimes he feels overwhelmingly present; Robin I’ve got mixed feelings about.) It focused on the family relationships more than the romantic ones (except for Henry’s) and THAT is what made it really powerful. The driving tension was how the darkness drove family members to hurt one another–from the review of Cora’s murdering Daniel to Emma’s own betrayal and manipulation of Henry, backgrounded with echoes of Rumple’s relationship with his own son.

The romantic relationships ARE important (it’s part of how you grow a family, after all) but the show is strongest when it focuses on the family relationships, which are messy enough without trying to make the romantic ones messier. *coughZelena’spregnancycough* There are strong episodes that focus on romance (Skin Deep, duh) but what makes these characters come alive for me is all the other people they love besides their partner(s).

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

Yeah, I agree. She had to take memories from anyone who knew what all went down in Camelot.

Does this mean she killed Merlin?

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

Nimue = Lady of the Lake in many versions. (Or A Lady of the Lake…at least one of them gets killed off in Mort D’Arthur, so…yanno. Following that timeline would be harder than Once’s I think.)

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

I’m convinced that ultimately Rumple’s love for Belle will be what makes him a hero. That and loving her selflessly–not desperately as he mostly did with his son (his love for Bae was strong and true, but the weakness was that his fear of losing Bae was stronger and drove him to do desperate things even when it wasn’t ultimately in Bae’s best interest).

When he was his most heroic, it was when he was willing to let go of Belle and Neal to save their lives.

To be a hero, he will need to develop that little bit of love that the apprentice left within his heart. Belle is his strength and that makes my Rumbeller heart happy.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

This was my fave of S5 so far (but the promo after…well, we’ll see in a week).

Liked:
–Henry courting Violet (so super sweet)
–Henry’s parents giving him advice and shutting down Hook’s :p
–Henry following his Dad’s example (Yay Neal!)
–Neal being very present the way that he should have been all along
–Henry and Violet bonding over love of family
–Henry’s horse/knight lessons from way back when actually coming back
–Emma being back in Operation Cobra (even if it was a fakeout)
–Regina’s contributions were some of the most self-aware and heartrending too
–Belle being smart and helping out and looking for her man
–Merida using the cup
–Belle is Rumple’s strength! I KNEW HE NEEDED TO LOVE HER FULLY TO BE A HERO.
–Emma’s manipulations were awesome and horrific at the same time
–Emma’s magic freeing Merlin (that was one of the more beautiful magic sequences we’ve had)
–Callbacks to S1 and S2 EVERYWHERE.

Disliked:
–NO EMMA NO
–Emma so dark 🙁
–Would have liked a bit more Belle but this is definitely leading in that direction so I’m okay with that because it was awesome

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Keb]

I am convinced, especially with an upcoming title that Merlin’s first love and the Dark One we saw are both Nimue, who was Merlin’s love in Mort d’Arthur. (He chased her until she convinced him to teach her magic, and then, annoyed with his constant chasing, trapped him in a tree/under a rock with the magic she’d learned.)

I haven’t yet decided whether I think Nimue is the first Dark One or the second (who killed the first to gain his power), but especially the way Emma wielded both dark and light magic to get Merlin free makes me think that’s what we’re going to see in some way.

Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing

[Author]

Posts